From a Moscow Theater Siege to the Erie Canal: What Happened on October 26

It is Monday, Oct. 26, the 299th day of 2026, leaving 66 days until the year ends. The date carries a long list of historical milestones, from early American politics to the Wild West to modern conflicts in the Middle East.

The most sobering anniversary is from 2002, when a hostage siege by Chechen rebels at a Moscow theater came to an end. More than 800 captives had been held. Russian special forces stormed the building and used a knockout gas, and 129 of the hostages died, most of them from the gas. Forty-one rebels were also killed.

Several earlier anniversaries shaped the American story. In 1774, the First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia. In 1825, the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York, linking Lake Erie with the Hudson River. In 1861, the Pony Express officially stopped operating, replaced by the transcontinental telegraph, though its final run was completed the following month.

In 1881, four lawmen, among them Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, traded gunfire with five outlaws in Tombstone, Arizona. Three of the outlaws were killed in what became known as the "Shootout at the O.K. Corral."

The date also marks turning points in the 20th century. In 1942, during the Battle of Santa Cruz near the Solomon Islands, Japanese bombers heavily damaged the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, which had launched the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo earlier that year. Its crew had to abandon ship, and Japanese torpedoes sank the Hornet the next day. In 1979, South Korean President Park Chung-hee was shot to death by Kim Jae-kyu, the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1984, a newborn known as "Baby Fae," who had a severe heart defect, received a baboon's heart in an experimental transplant in Loma Linda, California. She lived 21 days with the animal heart. In 2001, President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, which gave authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in pursuing possible terrorists.

More recent anniversaries are tied to politics and international conflict. In 2020, the Senate, deeply divided, confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, seating President Donald Trump's nominee days before the general election. In 2024, Israel launched predawn airstrikes on military targets in Iran, retaliating for a barrage of ballistic missiles Iran fired at Israel on Oct. 1. It was the first time Israel's military had openly attacked Iran.

Notable people celebrating birthdays on Oct. 26 include musician Milton Nascimento, who turns 84, actor Jaclyn Smith, 81, and TV host Pat Sajak, 80. Hillary Rodham Clinton is 79, while musician Bootsy Collins and artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel are both 75. Actor-singer Rita Wilson turns 70, singer Natalie Merchant 63, and country singer Keith Urban 59.

Younger names on the list include writer-producer Seth MacFarlane, who is 53, pro wrestler CM Punk, 48, and rapper Schoolboy Q, 40. Actor Julian Dennison, at 24, is the youngest.